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Ortio Casus had a taste forthem out

Rance ignored the little bastard, all his feral attention focused on the two ’borgs They were as powerfully ray nanotium body armor and black-visored helmets that concealed their faces And they were entirely too alert, apparently well aware of just what Rance was capable of

Bloody hell All he needed was a moment’s inattention Even a little boredom would do Too bad they were so well-trained Probably ex-Imperial Marines Especially the leader of the two, Captain Aaren, who’d first hacked into Rance’s nanosystem…

“Did you hear lowered, jerking his weak, bearded chin upward in irritation As usual, he was dressed like the aristo fop he longed to be: gaudy velvet and tooarray of rings he wore on every finger One for each slave in the cells

Rance suspected the big ruby on Casus’s right hand controlled his particular collar It’d be interesting to bite the ring off that spidery finger and find out A quick shift to wolf fors, and—

The pain slaroin so fast and brutally, his knees buckled Rance crashed to the floor, his body jerking into a helpless fetal ball He gagged, struggling to breathe despite the sensation of a big fist sloisting his dick with sadistic strength

Fucking nanobots

He ain The little prick hated it when he did that Probably because he could see the patient death waiting in Rance’s eyes

The pain abruptly ended, leaving hi nausea

“If you ruin this deal for“You’ll screa Days, do you understandcrop “Do you?”

“Yes… else would bring ht hi it ht be to spit in the bastard’s face

He had to pretend to subardless of the humiliation With any luck, a new master would be less wary than Casus Rance would only need an instant’s inattention to do his killing and make his escape

Mollified by Rance’s pretended subht—such as it was—and straightened his lace cuffs with a fussy jerk “Good My guards will prepare you now But if you dareeyes, you’re a dead man One way or another, I want you out of my stable Either she buys you, or—”

Rance concealed a frown She?

Zarifa Lorezo pushed the heavy gold drapes aside and stared out the porthole beyond An imperial courier maneuvered to dock at one of Market Station’s other arned slip